Movies, Sour Popcorn & Other Thoughts

Just a few links

2007-07-23T20:07:00.000-07:00

3Seek Web Directory
six stars directory
Artoo Links - SEO Friendly Directory Droid
AAAWebDirectory.com

Sublime, 2007

2007-06-28T22:43:00.000-07:00

Sublime is where Vanilla Sky meets Saw. It is an extremely intriguing story of conscience and unconsciousness. George Grieves checks into a hospital for a routine procedure and when things go wrong, his sanity starts to be questioned. He looses control of his life and his body.

This movie is not for the faint-hearted. But it takes you down into a deep reflexion about reality. I don't think the trailer for this movie does a good job of portraying the essence of the film, but you can have a quick idea...

Director: Tony Krantz

Rent this movie from Netflix

Pan's Labyrinth, 2006

2007-06-16T21:23:00.000-07:00

Pan's Labyrinth is a mix of Lord of the Rings and Saw (the first) in its narrative and camera style. It starts with Ofelia, a young girl, that goes to live in the farms with her mom. A faun gives Ofelia the Book of Crossroads, which contains the fantasy she immerses to. This movie has amazing special effects. The faun is a work of art by itself. No wonder they won so many make up awards. Also note the imagery from Alice in Wonderland in the beggining of Ofelia's book and how the imaginary takes over her sad reality.

I also love the way the 2 stories develop in parallel. In one side it mixes the cold reality of the aftermath of the spanish civil war (1944) and the colorful images of a fable. It is an amazing work of colors. You must observe how the movie gets darker and changes colors gradually. There is an extraordinary balance from dark to light and how it works intrisincally in between two worlds. I can say I watched this movie twice back to back, I like it so much.

Director: Guillermo Del Toro
With Ivana Baquero

Rent this movie from Netflix

Machuca (Chile, 2005)

2007-06-03T11:29:00.000-07:00

Machuca is another great South American movie. It takes place in Santiago, Chile, in 1973, while the dictatorship from Pinochet is blooming into control of the State. In the center of this political storm, two young boys seat side by side in an English private school. Gonzalo and Pedro Machuca become friends despite their different backgrounds and opposite ways of life.

The drama and sadness comes from realizing that the rich neighborhood is completely unaware of the violence and repression that happens across town. While rich citizens worry about material depravation brought by the socialist government, the rest of the population barely survives in the middle of the turmoil.

Machuca is a master piece, that re-enact daily life in 1973 through the eyes of two children. These two children are the only witnesses to the senseless political chaos that is in place.

Andres Wood has a great camera action and attention to details. A can of condensed milk, graffiti words on a wall and flags have a multitude of meanings in this narrative. Is the milk that sweeten also the milk that saddens? How meaningful can words and colorful flags be once they are gone? How do we really know which side we will cheer for today?

Director: Andres Wood, 2005
With Ariel Mateluna and Matias Quer

Rent this movie from Netflix

Blood Diamond, 2006

2007-06-01T19:33:00.001-07:00

“The natural resources of a country are the sovereign property of its people. They’re not ours to steal or exploit in the name of our comfort, our corporations or our consumerism. (...) Let us hear the voice of that world, let us learn from that voice, and let us ignore it no more.” From Blood Diamond.

Blood Diamond is yet another beautiful attempt to tell us about the world we are living in today, but cannot see. It’s set during Sierra Leon’s civil war in 1999 and shows how the guerillas finance and sustain the war with the selling of diamonds. The corruption, the slavery and the worthless of human lives are very well portrayed without excessive blood baths.

I think the important aspect of Blood Diamond, is that it relates what is going in Africa today to the rest of the world. It is not enough to show images if dying kids in Africa, but to show that the conflict is instigated by our daily lives. The western daily dreams of bling-bling, are the African nightmares of bang-bang.

Director: Edward Zwick
With Leonardio Di Caprio, Djimon Hounsou, Jennifer Connelly

Rent this movie from Netflix

Alpha Dog

2007-05-22T19:37:00.001-07:00

Alpha Dog is overall a good movie. Just like in a typical California young crownd, everyone seems to party, lots of people take drugs, few people sells drugs and some people cultivate it. All in all this movie is pretty realistic, showing a little bit of what happens when stupid young kids from middle class decide they are gangsta.

Bruce Willis plays a role that reminds of Bandits (2001). He is probably the highlight of the movie. Justin Timberlake impressed me, as I was not expecting much of him. However, a friend of mine feel asleep over the movie...

Director: Nick Cassavetes
With Bruce Willis, Justin Timberlake

Rent this movie from Netflix

La Moustache

2007-05-21T21:21:00.000-07:00

This all started today at lunch. My boss grew a moustache over the weekend and I had just watched this french movie yesterday. I couldn't stop laughing with one of my co-workers over this coincidence. My boss is the last person I thought could do "moustache type". Plus, when was the last time a moustache became a topic of any conversation? Seriously, I don't remember seeing a single person under 35 with a moustache in the last... mmmm... 20 years of my life? However, the moustache is back.

This movie is slow, intriguing and weird. It is about a moustache and so much more then that. It is about the meaning of who you are and who you can be through a physical cue. And it is about the things you cannot have control, but are part of who you are.

This guy shaves his moustache and goes into an identity crisis. Extremely interesting movie for those who have patience for a slow moving narrative and can handle subtitles.

Director: Emmanuel Carrère
With Marc Thiriez and Agnès Thiriez
(2005)

Rent this movie from Netflix

Jongo, Dance of the Souls: Diamond in the Internet

2007-02-03T21:57:00.000-08:00

Jongo is a dance originated from the slaves in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. For the slaves, it used to be a dance of freedom. Today, the dance has become a cultural tradition in small communities and is documented in a story that Naima Di Piero has told in a short movie, named Jongo, Dance of the Souls. The songs reflect a popular ritual that tell the history of these communities. One of the best short (15 minutes) documentaries I have seen in a long time. Click below to watch it.

Currently, we don't even think about how much great content is stored in the infinite pages of results that the search engines dispose. In times where TV is rarely stimulating, the internet can be a source of small diamonds, lost in billions of published pages. I will be posting in this blog some of my findings.